Analyst recaps Asian stock markets' Friday performance

Both Hong Kong stocks and Tokyo stocks ended higher Friday on buying following the Federal Reserve's decision to cut the policy rate for the third straight time, according to a market analyst.

The Hang Seng Index up 1.75 percent to close at 25,976.79 points. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index gained 1.62 percent to end at 9,079.35 points, and the Hang Seng Tech Index rose 1.87 percent to end at 5,638.05 points.

The Nikkei stock index, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average, ended up 687.73 points, or 1.37 percent, from Thursday at 50,836.55. The broader Topix index, meanwhile, finished 66.59 points, or 1.98 percent, higher at 3,423.83, marking a record high close.

Timothy Pope, a market analyst, recapped stock market performances in Hong Kong on Friday. He noted that Asian stock markets got a boost this week, riding on a U.S. Federal Reserve rate cut and fresh economic policy signals from China.

"In Hong Kong, the markets were up more strongly. The Hang Seng added one and three quarter percent by the end of today's session. There was a certain amount of cheer in the region following the U.S. Fed's quarter-point rate cut. But this didn't come as any kind of surprise to the markets, it was signaled pretty clearly in advance. Property stocks were doing well in Hong Kong as well after the Central Economic Work Conference committed to stabilizing China's property market. We saw there's an index of Chinese mainland developers that are listed in Hong Kong, it was up more than one and a half percent at one stage. It did slip back a little bit by the close of trade. It was up something like 0.7 percent by the end. One stock not joining in that fun, though, was China Vanke, which shed more than 1 percent. Investors are waiting to see the outcome of a bondholder vote this afternoon on whether to grant the developer extensions on a couple of onshore notes, so we'll see how that goes. Mining and textile also did well on the Hang Seng today, though," said Pope.

"In Japan, we saw the Nikkei 225 add 1.4 percent. It was mirroring Wall Street's post-rate-cut gains. The focus in Tokyo, though, is going to switch from U.S. interest rates over to Japanese interest rates next week, because the Bank of Japan is due to update its policy rate on December 19. So we can probably expect to see trade slow down a little on the Japanese markets ahead of that announcement. Still today, we saw the vast bulk of the Nikkei stocks trading higher. The market was making gains actually despite losses for some of the big heavyweight chip stocks like Tokyo Electron and Advantest. They both fell but this time they didn't manage to drag the whole market down," he said.

Analyst recaps Asian stock markets' Friday performance

The direction of dialogue between the U.S. and Iran is increasingly determined not by words spoken at the negotiating table, but by military actions, according to military analyst Hossein Kanani Moghaddam.

After a week of intensive behind-the-scenes diplomatic maneuvering, a new round of U.S.-Iran talks is scheduled for Thursday in Geneva and is expected to focus on Iran's nuclear program.

Meanwhile, tensions are escalating between the negotiations and the realities in the region. The recent deployment of a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier to the region has raised concerns. While some see it as a deterrent, Iran views it as a threat.

In an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN), Moghaddam said the key question is where any potential strike could originate.

"Arab countries in the region continue to assert that they will not permit the U.S. to use military bases on their soil for strikes against Iran. In my view, the deployment of U.S. aircraft carriers to the region is intended precisely to avoid reliance on those regional bases," said military analyst Hossein Kanani Moghaddam, who is also the former commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). He also said that Iran views its red line for any attack as absolute.

"If the U.S. attacks facilities inside Iran or targets the country's Supreme Leader, the entire region will inevitably be drawn into war. Iran has already made it clear to the Americans that, before targeting their regional bases, 2,000 missiles will be launched toward Israel," he said.

With a wide gap between Tehran's red lines and Washington's demands, the outlook for a deal appears increasingly uncertain, said the military expert.

"It seems we are approaching the zero hour as the countdown has begun. War or an agreement lies ahead, either the U.S. will back down, or Iran will offer major concessions," he said.

Direction of Iran-US talks determined by military actions away from negotiating table: analyst